James Bourne, guitarist and vocalist of the pop-punk band Busted, has revealed that his younger brother Chris donated him a kidney, calling his sibling a "hero" after both men underwent transplant surgery.
Bourne, 43, dropped out of an arena tour featuring Busted and fellow band McFly in September 2025, just a day before it began, citing health problems; his brother Chris stepped in as his replacement for the run. James later said he needed major surgery to "extend my life." "Wow, what the hell happened?" he wrote on social media this week. "One minute you're heading out on tour, the next thing you know you're on the bench and out of the game. My condition was serious and the doctors told me I had a few years left to live."
"My brother is a hero"
"I'm happy to share now that my youngest brother, Chris, who stepped in for me on tour last year, has saved my life yet again. This time quite literally by donating me one of his kidneys," James wrote, adding: "I can't believe how much better I'm starting to feel already. I'm still going to need some time, but I wanted you to know that we're both recovering from surgery just fine. My brother is a hero." Chris posted his own message on social media, writing simply: "We did it brother." James has not disclosed further details of the underlying condition that led to the transplant.
Bourne shot to fame with Busted alongside Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis in the early 2000s, with hits including "What I Go To School For," "Year 3000" and "Crashed the Wedding," and four UK number-one singles before the band split in 2005. He later teamed up with Willis and members of McFly to form McBusted, and has also written songs for McFly and 5 Seconds of Summer, fronted his own band Son of Dork, and released music from his stage musical Murder at the Gates.
